


I'll Be Seeing You

by RaineyScribbles



Category: Outer Limits, Twilight Zone
Genre: Mystery, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-13
Updated: 2015-12-13
Packaged: 2018-05-06 11:08:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5414540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaineyScribbles/pseuds/RaineyScribbles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alice Eden is in the process of putting her life back together. In the past five years, Alice’s life had revolved around nursing her mother through a long and painful battle with breast cancer and keeping the business she started with her mother a float. Now, with her mother’s promise to seek her own happiness, Alice is determined to move forward. Along with her best friend Elizabeth and her boyfriend Jack, Alice has slowly started getting her life back on track. She’s focused on her business and while Alice and Jack’s relationship had its ups and downs they are now back together. Alice even has hopes that maybe she and Jack can start planning a future together. After months of living with the grief and loss, Alice feels that she is making great strides towards making a future.</p>
<p>All of that changes when a strange man appears in Alice’s store one fateful day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Be Seeing You

I’ll Be Seeing You

“A belief is not merely an idea the mind possesses. It is an idea that possess the mind.”

Robert Oxton Bolton

**Part I:**

_He was scared. How long had he been crouching here in the dark? He couldn’t remember. Time had ceased to have any meaning to him now. All he could do was live in dread. The utter stillness was a false comfort. He knew what it represented. It was the calm before a storm. The utter stillness before a predator took down a prey._

_He knew what the monster wanted to do. The monster had been following the woman for over a week. The monster had stood outside where she worked and where she lived. Day after day. The monster was relentless in his calculation. He wanted to know everything about her and he was getting closer. Now the monster knew her daily routine. He knew who the people that she held dear. He could almost predict her reactions. All he was waiting for now was the perfect opportunity._

_The man in the darkness gave a choked sound of grief as he rocked back and forth on the ground. He had to do something to save her; anything. She had to be warned about what the monster had planned for her. He remembered the first time he had seen her. He vividly remembered how the light had shown on her pretty hair and her kind smile. He sobbed softly because he knew that it was these very qualities about her that had attracted the monster. It was her GOODNESS that had attracted the monster to her. Her goodness shown from her, she practically glowed in that memory._

_She needed to be told. She had to be put on guard. Maybe if she was told what was going to happen to her she might have a chance to survive._

_But even as he promised himself that he would warn her, he knew that it would all be in vain. After all, how could he protect her from himself?_

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“Are you sure she’s going to like them?” The young man asked fretfully. He leaned over the counter and watched her deft fingers arrange the varying flowers together.

Alice smiled at the man from across the counter. Her brown eyes looked him closely. He just looked so out of place in the flower shop. He was wearing a faded Megadeth t-shirt with the collar ripped out, worn jeans with rips, holes and anti-social slogans written all over it. He seemed more the type to hang out smoky bars with dubious clientele rather than a flower shop on a sunny late Thursday morning.

Alice carefully wrapped the bouquet of giant sunflowers and purple daisies in pink tissues and yellow cellophane. She laid the bouquet carefully on the counter and took a moment to look at the pretty profusion of colors. “This is absolutely perfect. You did say that she wanted a cheerful bouquet of flowers, didn’t you? Well, what could be more cheerful than sunflowers and daisies? Now all you have to do is fill out this card while I run your credit card.”

“A card?” The young man looked alarmed.

“You definitely need a card. Flowers are very charming but they only about last a few weeks tops. Now a card, that’s different. A card is something girls keep long after they’ve thrown out the flowers. It’s a memento of your love.” Alice smiled at the man’s queasy expression. “Come on, it’s not that bad. Just write down what you feel.”

“Write what I feel?” He sounded appalled. His dark eyes darted to the object she held in her right hand. He stared at the card she was holding as if it were a ticking bomb.

“Well, my advice is to keep it strictly rated PG. How about you write down what you feel about her. You know, emotionally?” She placed a worn ballpoint Bic pen beside a small rectangular blank embossed card in front of him. She put small cream envelope beside the card.

The man began to write and after a few minutes he pushed the card towards Alice. “How’s that?” He asked hopefully.

“’ _Roses are red. / Violets are blue. / You complete me like I complete you_ ,’” Alice read out loud.

“Do you think she’ll like it?” He asked hopefully.

Laughing out-loud Alice couldn’t speak for a few minutes. “Yes,” finally gasped out. She leaned forward and placed a kiss on his lips. “It’s perfect, Jack. Just perfect.”

Jack tucked the card into the cream envelope and placed it into the bouquet. “Happy one year anniversary, babe,” Jack said as he re-handed the bouquet to Alice over the counter.

Leaning over the counter again, Alice kissed Jack again.

“Awww! How sweet!” A female voice intruded on the interlude. A woman stepped forward from the back of the store. She was dressed in dark jeans, a dark t-shirt and a bright yellow apron that showed she worked for At The Garden of Eden, the flower and greeting card shop.

The kiss broke apart and Alice looked over her left shoulder. “Can’t I kiss my boyfriend on our anniversary?” Alice asked her assistant, Elizabeth.

“What do I know?” Elizabeth asked. “I’ve been with Owen for so long that I’m used to being taken for granted.” But Elizabeth was smiling as she answered.

Placing one more quick kiss on her forehead, Jack picked up his Visa card off the wooden counter. “Speaking of taking you for granted, babe, I have to get going. Band practice is on at three. I’m going to get a move on. Traffic’s gonna be a pain in the ass.”

“Okay. Drive safe.” Alice walked around the counter to give Jack another hug goodbye. He returned the hug with gusto, lifting her off the ground. He waved goodbye to Elizabeth as he walked out the door.

After Jake had left the flower shop, Elizabeth picked up the sunflower and daisy bouquet that was still lying down on the scarred wooden counter. “Flowers and a card,” Elizabeth asked teasingly while she sniffed the flowers and put it back down. “Not very creative is he? Especially the flowers. You do own a flower shop, after all. Shouldn’t he get you a giant teddy-bear or at the very least something more creative?”

“Not as uncreative as you might think. I have never gotten flowers from any of the guys I have ever dated before because I DO own a flower shop. I guess people just assume that I always get flowers,” Alice confessed. “But at least I have a hand written card.” She rolled up the sleeves her yellow sweater and adjusted her own apron.

“A card? Hand written? Impressive.” Elizabeth answered tongue in cheek. She read the note and laughed. “Did he even lick the envelope himself? At the very least tell me he picked out his own card, Ally. Give me at least that.” Elizabeth mocked begged.

“Out! Be gone! Shouldn’t you be at lunch or something?” Alice retorted laughing. She shook her head in exasperation making her dark brown ponytail bounce.

“Actually, I should have been out to lunch about two minutes ago. I’m off now. Have fun with your flowers and your card.” Elizabeth said as she untied her apron and placed it on a shelf under the cash register. She picked up her sweater and purse from underneath the front counter.

Elizabeth turned and waved as she opened the front door. Pausing as she went out the door, “Ally? Seriously, I am happy for you. I want you to have the night out, the best anniversary you’ve ever had.” Her eyes suddenly turned serious.

“Thanks, Beth. Now you go have lunch. Get a pastry for me? A cheese Danish?” Alice smiled as she watched her employee and her best friend leave and walk into the San Jose morning sun.

**********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Standing by herself inside At The Garden of Eden, her San Jose flower shop Alice brushed off Elizabeth’s concern. “Great! Now what do I need to do?” Picking up her order sheet Alice looked up all the special orders she had to get ready for the day. Speaking to herself, she went over the list she had made earlier in the day, “Hmmm….Phyllis Crawford has an order for a bouquet of Hawaiian orchids. Okay. Back room for me.”

Picking up her clipboard, flower sheers and a roll of cellophane, Alice made her way to the backroom of the store. She laid all her items on large ancient work-stained wooden work table in the middle of her large refrigerated storage space. Just as she was to turn to one of the oversized refrigerators that held the extra flowers, Alice suddenly looked up.

She couldn’t explain what it was but Alice suddenly felt as if she wasn’t alone in the store anymore.

“Is anyone here?” Alice looked around her back room. “Hello? Is anyone back here?” She paused to listen carefully. She tried to make her voice a little louder, “This area is off-limits to customers.” She looked around and tried to listen more closely. She crept a bit forward to the door but all she heard was silence. She went back to the fridge, “Great, Alice. You’re totally freaking yourself out. You need to lay off the late night Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkeys. And maybe stop watching Lifetime before you go to bed.”

Alice opened the fridge and carefully picked out her orchids. As she firmly closed the door, she saw out of the corner of her eye a sudden movement to her left. Turning around she saw a man in a dark blue navy suit standing in the center of the room. She had no idea how he got inside the backroom.

Forcing herself to put on her professional smile, Alice faced the stranger squarely, “I’m sorry. This space in the store is off-limits to customers. If you would just step outside, I’ll be more than happy to help you.”

“You were always polite. I noticed that about you the first moment we spoke. You were always polite.” The man said in a soft and gentle voice. It was a nice voice really, a soothing voice.

“What?” Alice asked. She didn’t know why but the words he was saying was making the hairs on her arms stand up.

“Don’t be afraid of me, Alice. Don’t walk away.” The man slowly began to walk towards her. He hands were outstretched, the palms turned up in a pleading gesture.

“Look, you seem like a nice guy,” Alice tried to begin.

“I’m so sorry I’m going to have to hurt you.” He kept that gentle tone in his voice even as he said those words. His gentle voice was at odds with the horrific sentence he had just said.

“What?” Alice choked out in a horrified whisper. She tried to move her body to the exit. Alice thought longingly about the sheers she had but it was on the table, too far away. She needed to get away but the door to the front of the store seemed like a million miles away. She tried to angle her body away from the stranger as much as possible.

“That night at the laundromat, when I had a five dollar bill? You were the only one kind enough to help me. That look on your face, that innocent look. You always look so innocent, Alice. Even when you let that trash boyfriend of yours touch you.” Suddenly his voice no longer sounded soft and gentle. It started to develop a hard edge. His dark grey eyes looked almost accusing “How do you manage that? I wonder if you will still look like that when you die in my arms, Alice” His voice became gentle again, he sounded oddly musing at the end. He smiled at her as if he had just asked her a banal question about the weather.

Alice stifled a horrified scream as she threw the flowers she was holding in the direction of the strange man. The flowers took him by surprise and he paused. In one fluid motion, she ran to the table and grabbed hold of the sheers. Then she ran as fast she could on her Nike-shod feet. She made to the front door of her store without even knowing how she did it. She ran blindly, not knowing where she was going but just desperate to get as far away as she could from her store. She didn’t stop running until she crashed into a figure several blocks down.

“Wow, are you all right?” A concerned female voice asked.

Alice staggered back and tried to take some deep gulping breaths. She looked up and saw a smartly dressed woman in her forties looking at her with kind but worried eyes.

She tried to speak twice before her voice could actually form words.

“I think someone wants to kill me,” Alice forced the words out from her dry lips. The sheers she was still clinging to until that moment dropped with a clang on the sidewalk.

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End file.
